VIBRANT MUSICIAN'S LIFE ENDED MUCH TOO SOON

Drew Glackin was a rising star in the vibrant Hartford music scene in the 1980s, a performer who could play any stringed instrument, a member of numerous bands, both known and obscure.

He was the oldest of four children born to Margaret and Joseph Glackin and lived in Phillipsburg, N.J. Margaret supported her family as a school nurse after Joseph, a high school teacher, was killed in an accident when Drew was only 3. Glackin began piano lessons in third grade. He could pick out tunes and play them with ease. By middle school, he was playing the organ, the trumpet and the French horn. He performed in churches. When a group needed a guitar player, his teacher showed him a few chords, and "he picked it up right away," said his mother. "He just took off."

He was athletic, loved hiking, biking and fishing, read voraciously but absolutely loved music. "It was his forte," his mother said. "You think of Andrew; you think of music."

By the end of high school, Glackin knew he wanted to major in music in college and decided to go to the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford after visiting relatives in Connecticut.

When he arrived at Hartt in 1981, Glackin said his goal was to play every string instrument there was, and he decided to major in classical guitar, mastering the new instrument practically overnight.

"He was always ahead, looking at different genres and techniques," said his mother, "things that would become popular a year down the road."

Glackin, even as a student, soon became part of the Hartford music scene, playing with a variety of bands - the Commuters, Xywacks, Dancing with Henry, Tandy, Feathermerchants and the better-known Monster Band and Mr. Right.

He played at Chuck's Cellar in the Civic Center, the now-defunct Russian Lady, Scarlett O'Hara's and Sean Patrick's. His preferred style was known as roots music, an acoustic melange of bluegrass and country. "He really did have an impact on the music scene," said Jody Marie Frankovits, a Hartford resident who became a fan after hearing the Monster Band one night in 1981. "I would go to every show they had. My mother thought I was a groupie."

Glackin played the mandolin and the lap steel guitar, which is held on the lap and plucked, as well as the bass guitar. "If he was sleeping on someone's couch, he was happy," said Frankovits. "The music was all that mattered."

Out-of-town musicians who played at he Bushnell or local cafes would wander over after their performances and join Glackin and his band onstage wherever they were playing. Afterward, they would often adjourn to Glackin's apartment above Scarlett O'Hara's, and the music would go on all night, with occasional beer-can golf competitions off his porch.

Glackin was tall, easygoing, gregarious and full of laughter. "He was like the king of Pratt Street," said friend Butch Oeser.

"He pretty much lived like a rock star, got up for breakfast at 6 p.m." The musicians were mostly in their 20s, with few responsibilities. "It was kind of like running away with the circus a little bit," said Oeser.

Oeser helped Glackin join the stagehands union, which enabled Glackin to supplement his performing income with work as a roadie with touring musicians.

About 1997, Glackin moved to the East Village in New York City and continued to play and tour with bands, including the Silos, a roots-rock band. He received a Grammy nomination for best contemporary blues album for his bass playing on a Susan Tedeschi album and fulfilled his college wish by playing piano, high-string guitar, ukulele, mandocello, 12-string electric guitar and dobro in addition to the mandolin, lap steel and electric bass guitar.

It wasn't easy to piece together a livelihood as a musician, but Glackin never seemed to mind the hardships. "I've never met a guy who was as untroubled by the challenges of life," said Pete Veru, a friend and longtime roommate in New York. "He never worried about things."

Glackin followed bands around the country and performed at a Doc Watson festival in North Carolina, a concert in far upstate New York and other gigs around the country. He made several CDs and performed at the Seattle Film Festival and the annual South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.

For the past few years, Glackin had been living in Brooklyn, N.Y., and had been a stage manager at Summerstage in Central Park.

Never very concerned about his personal well-being, Glackin ignored friends' pleas to see a doctor about his severe weight loss. He died unexpectedly from an untreated thyroid condition, leaving fans, friends and family members devastated. Since his death, there have been musical tributes to him in cities ranging from Austin and Dallas to Brooklyn.

"If only we had made him go [to a doctor], but Drew was a stubborn character," said Jim Chapdelaine, a West Hartford musician and close friend. "I think he lived the classic traveling musician's life, like a cowboy - either a pocketful of cash, or broke.

"If wealth is measured by the people you play with and the music you make, then he was a wealthy man," Chapdelaine said. "He left a lot of friends and great music. He was loved wherever he went."

A Hartford tribute to Drew Glackin is planned for this summer. For details, see the guestbook link at www.drewglackin.com.